Coronavirus (Covid 19) – Update

Uncategorised

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus Covid-19 situation all staff at the Barnet UNISON Branch office are working from home in line with the Government’s instruction.

If you are a member seeking advice or support from UNISON the quickest way to receive a response is to email us at contactus@barnetunison.org.uk, if at all possible. You can leave a message speaking slowly and clearly please include your name and telephone number on 020 8359 2088. We will respond as soon as we can.

Alternatively you can contact UNISON Direct online only

https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/online-enquiries/

To Join UNISON click the following link 

https://join.unison.org.uk/

Barnet UNISON members working in Nursery Schools and Early Years settings need our help. Petition

Anti - Racism, Austerity, COVID 19, Health and Safety, Local, Schools, UNISON Campaign

Dear Members

Barnet UNISON members working in Nursery Schools and Early Years settings need our help.

Today 1820 people sadly died from COVID, yesterday it was 1600 and until today that shocking statistic was the highest COVID death rate since the pandemic.

Whilst all schools have closed to all but pupils of key workers and vulnerable children Nursery Schools and Early Years have been bullied into remaining fully open.

This was not a decision based on the science but on politics and the consequences are that more and more people are being admitted to hospital which in turn puts an intolerable pressure on our NHS workers.

As a Barnet UNISON member I am asking you to sign this petition and also to share it widely in solidarity with all our members working in Nursery Schools and Early Years Settings

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSco9gGrDAS-iDqWONtAcY81-2vjTiaPy4E28fLVHPFlE8czwA/viewform

 

The health and safety responsibilities owed by school and college employers – UNISON

Health and Safety, Local, Report, Schools, UNISON Campaign

The health and safety responsibilities owed by school and college employers

Schools have legal responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees and to ensure other persons, not in their employment, are not exposed to a risk to their health and safety.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to health and safety of employees and others, such as pupils and parents, affected by the conduct of the employer’s undertaking. The Regulations also require the risk assessment to identify the measures necessary to comply with the statutory duties owed by the employer. Where the employer implements such measures, the primary duty is to avoid risks or combat the risks at source. The duties also include having appropriate procedures in place in the event of a serious and imminent danger.

Further, the relevant statutory provisions include the following:

  • Under the 1999 Regulations, any risk assessment shall be reviewed by the employer or self-employed person who made it if there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates;
  • Every employer shall enable persons who are exposed to serious, imminent and unavoidable danger to stop work and, save in exceptional cases for reasons duly substantiated (which cases and reasons shall be specified in those procedures), require the persons concerned to be prevented from resuming work in any situation where there is still a serious and imminent danger.
  • In addition, the employer owes duty to inform and consult with safety representatives. Under the Safety Representative and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 (recognised unions) and the similar regulations applying where unions are not recognised, every employer shall consult safety representatives in good time with regard to the introduction of any measure at the workplace which may substantially affect the health and safety of the employees the safety representatives concerned represent.
  • Employers must ensure that employees who are exposed to risk to their health and safety which have not been adequately controlled by other means are provided with suitable personal protective equipment.
  • Finally, employers owe duties to assess risks and to protect employees against exposure to harmful biological agents under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

 

Sections 44/100 Employment Rights Act 1996

Under sections 44 and 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees are protected from detriment or dismissal where there exist circumstances of danger which they reasonably believe to be serious and imminent, and  they leave or propose to leave, or otherwise refuse to return to their place of work (or any dangerous part of the workplace. There are also protections under these provisions for those who take appropriate steps to protect themselves or others in circumstances which the employee reasonably believes amounts to a serious and imminent danger.

If you are concerned about these legal rights as they apply to you, further advice should be sought from your branch.

 

For more information and advice click on link to UNISON web site here

http://msg.unison.org.uk/q/1myd86IiEb7HxZh55p4T/wv

Breaking News:  Early Years/ Nursery Schools zoom meeting Sunday 17 at 11am

Anti - Racism, Austerity, COVID 19, Health and Safety, Local, Report, Schools, UNISON Campaign

Sunday Jan 17, 2021 11:00 AM 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82065448996?pwd=M0pkRExzc0o5OVFNRUtPM2xFN0U1UT09
Meeting ID: 820 6544 8996
Passcode: 121124

 

Please click on this link to our website with reasons behind this being called.

Breaking News: Government threat of funding cut to Heads of Nursery Schools and Early Years

Breaking News: Government threat of funding cut to Heads of Nursery Schools and Early Years

Anti - Racism, Austerity, COVID 19, Local, News, Schools, Solidarity, Uncategorised, UNISON Campaign

URGENT: Please read the document issued by the Department of Education yesterday evening.

You can read the full report by clicking on the link below.

Coronavirus-related support for submitting an Early Years Census 2021 return

 

This report is an attempt to:

  1. Defy the science by forcing all Nursery Schools and Early Years to re-open
  2. Bully the Nursery Schools and Early Years with threats of serious funding cuts if they don’t fully reopen immediately
  3. Pick a fight with the Trade Unions.

Summary of the report as follows:

This report changes things seriously for Nursery Schools and Early Years setting because it states that unless they fully reopen they will not get the funding they have had for the previous terms.

As we all know thee above settings are opening for pupils of key workers and vulnerable children.

The Government in this report are saying that is not good enough and that they need to fully reopen.

Nursery Schools and Early Years settings need all of our help. Most parents and members of the public will not be aware of this latest attack.

Please help share this post.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking after your mental health

Uncategorised

Whether you have been working throughout the pandemic, been furloughed, working from home, self-isolating or something else, Barnet UNISON understands the impact this may be having on your or a colleagues mental health.

Having good mental health helps us relax more, achieve more and enjoy our lives more. Below are details about websites and organisations to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing.

Able Futures

Able Futures can help you manage your mental health at work so you can enjoy more good days. If eligible they provide you nine months advice and guidance from a mental health specialist who can help you learn coping mechanisms, build resilience, access therapy or work with your employer to make adjustments to help your mental health at work.

Call Able Futures free on 0800 321 3137 from 8am to 10.30pm, Monday to Friday or apply online.

https://able-futures.co.uk/

Nafsiyat

Nafsiyat is an intercultural therapy centre, committed to providing effective and accessible psychotherapy and counselling services to people from diverse religious, cultural and ethnic communities in London.

We currently offer intercultural therapy to people living in the London boroughs of Camden, Islington, Enfield and Haringey. This therapy is short-term only, but available at no charge.

To access this therapy, you need either to be referred to us, for example by your GP, or you can apply to refer yourself.

https://www.nafsiyat.org.uk/

 

NHS Every Mind Matters

Visit the NHS Every Mind Matters website:

https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

 

Urgent support

If you are having thoughts of suicide, are harming yourself or have thought about self-harm, it’s important to tell someone.

These thoughts and feelings can be complex, frightening and confusing, but you do not have to struggle alone.

If you cannot wait to see a doctor and feel unable to cope or keep yourself safe, contact one of the organisations below to get support right away. Or see further NHS advice on dealing with a mental health crisis or emergency.

 

Free 24-hour listening support

When life is tough, Samaritans are here to listen at any time of the day or night. You can talk to them about anything that’s troubling you, no matter how difficult.

Call free on 116 123 or visit the Samaritans website

Shout offers confidential 24/7 crisis text support for times when you need immediate assistance.

Text “SHOUT” to 85258 or visit Shout Crisis Text Line

 

Urgent, non-emergency medical advice

If you need help urgently but are not at risk of death or serious illness, use the NHS 111 non-emergency advice online.

NHS 111 advice online

Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.

People with hearing problems can use the NHS 111 British Sign Language (BSL) service.

 

Crisis support for young people

If you are under 35 and feel that life is not worth living any more, call Papyrus’s HopelineUK from 9am to 10pm weekdays and 2pm to 10pm on weekends.

Call HopelineUK on 0800 068 41 41

Text 07786 209697

Visit the Papyrus website

 

CALM

CALM is the Campaign Against Living Miserably, for people in the UK who are down or have hit a wall for any reason.

Call 0800 58 58 58 (daily, 5pm to midnight)

Free, anonymous webchat with trained staff

Visit the CALM website

 

Dial 999

In a life-threatening emergency, phone the emergency services and ask for an ambulance.

When to call 999

 

When to get help from your GP

It’s important to seek help from your GP immediately if you are experiencing the following symptoms for the first time or are not already receiving care from mental health services/

If you live in England, in most areas you can also refer yourself for free, non-urgent NHS psychological therapy services, also known as IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) services, which provide evidence-based treatments for depression and anxiety.

Services remain open during the coronavirus pandemic, so do seek professional help if you think you need it.

Barnet UNISON asking for the NSL Parking Service to be suspended during lockdown.

Anti - Racism, Austerity, Health and Safety, Local, National, UNISON Campaign

Barnet UNISON statement:

When lockdown was first instigated in March last year the Parking Service was temporarily suspended not just in Barnet but across a number of London Councils.

We are now in a more critical situation in that this latest COVID strain is clearly more transmissible with 1 in 30 Londoners testing positive for COVID.

The London Mayor has stated “We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.”

Our members are genuinely fearful that there is a very real and present risk to themselves and a risk to their families. There is increased risk of contracting COVID when travelling to and from work on public transport and it is widely accepted that there is an increased risk for members of the BAME community. Please note a high proportion of the NSL workforce are from the BAME community

Our members working for NSL are at a loss to understand why the Parking Service which is not an emergency service is carrying on as business as usual.

The spirit of the lockdown appears to be trying to limit the mixing and movement of people to only those services which are critical.

Parking Enforcement is not am essential/critical service.

Barnet UNISON will be organising a zoom meeting for our NSL members and will be reporting back to them as to what I have been doing on their behalf.

We are asking that in light of the mounting pressure on our London Hospitals and NHS staff can the decision to keep Parking Services be reviewed as a matter of urgency?

End.

 

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